Question: what evidence do you have that humans are heating up the planet and what do you feel about this?

Jony Hudson answered on 22 Nov 2011:

Almost all scientists agree that humans are heating up the planet. There are lots of discussions about exactly how much, and quite a lot of arguments, but it’s important to remember that this is a natural part of science. Scientists will argue with each other, and try to disprove each other’s theories and measurements, because by doing that they make sure that the theories and measurements are strong.

There are lots of different kinds of evidence for global warming, but the most direct evidence is found by looking at how the temperature has changed over the years. By looking at ice from the poles, scientists can work out what the temperature was, even many thousands of years ago. The reason is, because as you drill deeper into the ice, you’re looking at ice that was made from snow that fell further and further back in the past. And scientists can do tests on the snow to work out how cold it was when it fell.

What the scientists find is that the way that the temperature is changing now is not the same as it was in the past. They can rule out the effects of the sun, and weather patterns that create ice ages, and all other factors. The only thing left is human activity, which must be the cause of the change.

Scientists also can calculate what should happen to the temperature, given various amounts of human created polution. The results agree with what’s happening.

How do I feel about it? It makes me sad that more is not being done to stop the problem. It’s sad because we have all the technology that we need, but it’s a problem of politics, money and power that stops it from happening.

Long answer, but an important question!